HELP- Most severe ADHD studnt ever!

Please help!!!! I am meeting with the mother of one of my students this week. He is the most severely ADHD child I have ever had in 25 years. Of course we have tried the usual- token board, praise, movement, breaks, etc. It has helped. This is beyond his control- he is just wired this way. The Sped team says his mother won't hear of medication- I have never advised medication for a child- but this s an exception. He is such a sweet boy and very smart- thank God- but it is just beyond his control. The mom has him ride the regular ed bus- the bus driver is ready to have a nervous breakdown. I am sure that is coming to an end. He has a para- but his impact on my other students is severe- as he is loud, always moving- sometimes I feel it is unfair to them, as they need to learn. It is so easy for all #@& to break out, as they are so little and things fall apart so easily.
I am meeting with the mom alone this week- without the sped team- I have never met her- but have been told she really does not fully understand his ADHD. Any advice for this meeting???

I am wondering if observing in your classroom for 30-60 minutes would help her understand the problem. Do you think he would behave as usual? Explain the impact on other students' learning and discuss things you have tried.

When a child is put on meds, that does not mean they are on for life, or any definite time. If, after a fair trial, they can stop the meds. That should be a very positive reason for trying them.

I had this same student a couple of years ago. Sweet and smart but couldn't sit still or focus for more than 5 seconds. Mom still doesn't understand how it impacts both him and the rest of the class. When you meet I think all you can do is give observations and examples. Maybe take some time this week to document all behaviors over the course of a day, or even an hour, so that you can share it with her and she can see exactly what is happening. Good luck - I know how hard it is!

When you are the parent of an ADHD child, especially if he's a first or only child, you aregiving them a lot of attention and re-direction and its normal to you. The parent doesn't fully understand how disruptive it is a class full of children because they haven't experienced it.

It was when my son's second grade teacher told me that she had to "tell him 23 times today to sit down -- I was keeping a tally" that I realize that he was significantly out of the norm. My son was an active child, but not a disobedient one, so I knew this was beyond his control.

I think keeping a tally of yelling out, leaving his seat, or whatever is easies for you to do is a good idea. Having he observe the class would be beneficial as well.

I was still hesitant to put my son on meds. I wanted him to be "normal." Then my mother-in-law said, "Isn't it fortunate that science has something than can help him?" That turned my thinking around. Yes, I wanted to do something to help him.